By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The Department of Education-Negros Occidental Schools Division was urged to be on guard against hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), as the province recorded a 6,300 percent increase in cases this year.
Provincial Health Office (PHO) head Dr. Ernell Tumimbang said teaching staff should be aware and regularly monitor their students for any HFMD symptoms.
Commonly caused by coxsackievirus, this contagious infection is common among young children.
Students who are feeling unwell and showing symptoms of HFMD should immediately be brought to the nearest health center for proper diagnosis and isolation. A home quarantine may be necessary depending on the results.
Tumimbang is adamant that cases of HFMD in the province will slow down in the next couple of weeks following the advisory from Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to local government units to strengthen their preparedness and response to cases.
The PHO has already sounded the alarm bells in some local government units, and told their respective municipal and city health officers to intensify their information drives on how to avoid HFMD, such as observing minimum public health standards.
HFMD is characterized by painful sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet.
The illness also includes the following symptoms:
- fever
- sore throat
- feeling unwell
- painful, red, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks
- a red rash, without itching but sometimes with blistering on the palms, soles, and sometimes the buttocks
- irritability in infants and toddlers
- loss of appetite
Earlier, PHO released data showing 320 HFMD cases in the province — very high compared to only five cases in the same period last year.
Kabankalan City currently has the highest number of cases at 73.
The illness spreads through direct contact with droplets from coughing or sneezing, touching an infected person or through kissing, hugging, or sharing utensils, contact with an infected person’s feces, and touching infected objects and surfaces./DGB, WDJ